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New App connects CPR/AED trained citizens with cardiac patients in need
Orland Fire Protection District Fire Chief Michael Schofield unveiled a new app at the Board meeting Tuesday Feb. 27, 2024 that will help improve lifesaving responses for cardiac arrest patients.
The Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD) already is recognized as having one of the highest cardiac arrest “save rates” in the State of Illinois and among the top save rates in the country. The national average is around 15 percent but in the OFPD it is more than 70 percent.
Schofield, accompanied by EMS Lt. Joshua Girdick, showcased the new App called “PulsePoint Respond” at a meeting for the Fire District board on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.
Individuals who download the app and who have experience in CPR would be immediately notified of any nearby individual who has a cardiac arrest experience. The App would also identify the locations of AEDs, easy-to-use resuscitation devices that easily help return patients into heart synchronicity.
“PulsePoint Respond is a Smartphone App designed to support public safety agencies working to improve cardiac arrest survival rates through improved bystander performance and active citizenship,” Schofield said noting the App not only tells App users where the cardiac arrest is but also where the closest AED is located.
“PulsePoint Respond empowers everyday citizens to provide lifesaving assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest.”
An AED is an Automatic External Defibrillator which is an easy-t0-use device that helps save the lives of cardiac arrest patients. They are located in public locations including in many businesses and retail stores.
Users of the App who have CPR training and indicate a willingness to assist in the event of a cardiac emergency would be notified if someone nearby is experiencing a cardiac emergency, Schofield explained.
“The response may require CPR. If the cardiac emergency is in a public place, the location-aware application will alert trained citizens within a quarter-mile vicinity of the emergency location simultaneously as the OFPD dispatches EMS crews to the medical emergency,” said EMS Lt. Joshua Girdick.
Girdick noted that in the past The application also directs these citizen rescuers to the exact location of the closest publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Schofield and Girdick encourage members of the public with CPR and AED training to download the free application and take it for a spin. You can download the app in either the Apple App Store or on Google Play by simply searching for “PulsePoint.”
“This great technology is going to save lives. More people will live after a cardiac arrest in Orland Park because of this program than anywhere else. And as Josh explained, 66 percent of our cardiac arrest people are going home,” Schofield said.
“It is amazing. We have one of the highest cardiac arrest save rates in the state of Illinois.”
OFPD Board President John Brudnak noted that he downloaded the app, and that he was notified of nine instances of cardiac arrest in the area just between 2:30 PM and the start of the board meeting at 5 PM.
“It is not hard to use. It is self-explanatory. If you have a little bit training on it, it makes saving a life easy. Anybody who has CPR training or has a member of their family who knows CPR this can be an effective life-saving tool,” Brudnak said, notign he downloaded it during the meeting and it took less than one minute to activate.
“This is another reason why the Orland Fire Protection District is the best in the region.”
For more information on CPR, AEDs or the PulsePoint Responder, click any of the following links.
PulsePoint How-To Videos – https://www.pulsepoint.org/resources/#how-to
PulsePoint FAQ – https://www.pulsepoint.org/pulsepoint-respond/#faqs
PulsePoint News Stories and Saves – https://www.pulsepoint.org/category/video/
Recent News from PulsePoint Agencies – https://www.pulsepoint.org/category/highlights/
PulsePoint At a Glance – https://www.pulsepoint.org/pulsepoint-respond/
PulsePoint AED At a Glance – https://www.pulsepoint.org/pulsepoint-aed/
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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